Brevard County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously ratified a consent order agreement between the county and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to settle issues over the county's release of more than 22 million gallons of diluted sewage following Hurricane Irma last September.

Most of that sewage went into the Indian River Lagoon.

Under terms of the agreement, dated Feb. 27:

$12 million in projects: Brevard County agreed to complete three projects totaling more than $12 million by the end of 2020. The consent order said these projects were designed to help "limit the occurrence of future sanitary sewer overflows."

Installing about 3.5 miles of force main on North Riverside Drive from East Eau Gallie Boulevard (State Road 518) south to Oakland Avenue in Indialantic, at a cost of $10 million, with completion by Dec. 31, 2020.

Upgrading piping for seven collection basins in the south beaches area, at a cost of $1.9 million, with completion by April 30, 2019.

Performing smoke testing of sewage pipes in Satellite Beach, at a cost of $185,000, with completion by April 30, 2019.

Brevard County Manager Frank Abbate said all three projects already are in various stages of design and/or construction.

Penalties to DEP: Brevard County agreed to pay the Department of Environmental Protection $14,237 to settle the case — $13,737 for civil penalties and $500 for expenses incurred by the DEP for its investigation.

"In-kind penalty project": In lieu of making a cash payment of $13,737 in civil penalties, the county can instead implement an "in-kind penalty project" involving an environmental enhancement, environmental restoration or capital/facility improvement.

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Work is underway on a sewer line project along South Patrick Drive.(Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)

Abbate told commissioners last week in an email that the sewage release "resulted from the extreme rainfall which occurred with Hurricane Irma and the subsequent storms closely following the hurricane."

The storm overtaxed sewer plants in Brevard and elsewhere in Florida.

Brevard County's utility, alone, discharged 22 million gallons from facilities in the South Beaches, Port St. John and Sykes Creek in the days after the storm. Most of the sewage went into the Anchor Drive canal in Satellite Beach.

Brevard County Commission Chair Rita Pritchett had signed the consent order agreement last month.

However, Abbate said last week that the deal should have first come to the County Commission for approval. He took blame for what he termed a "misstep."

During a brief discussion of the issue before Tuesday's vote, Brevard County Commissioner John Tobia called the consent order a "mutually beneficial arrangement" that was arrived at through negotiations that were "not contentious."

Tobia also defended Abbate, Pritchett and Brevard County Utility Services Department officials, saying they did not intentionally do anything wrong by failing to get approval from the full County Commission before Pritchett signed the consent order.

"I am confident this was merely an honest mistake," Tobia said. "I appreciate the county manager for being straightforward with us."

Tobia called Abbate "a great county manager," adding that, for every "misstep" that the public may read about in the newspaper, there are 20 things Abbate does right behind the scenes that never are publicized.

Tobia also complimented Florida Rep. Randy Fine of Palm Bay for his efforts on seeking to resolve this matter, including having a series of discussions with Department of Environmental Protection officials.

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